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EPISODES

Join Deconstructing Dinner’s Jon Steinman as he takes us behind the shelves of the grocery store to examine the origins of 6 popular foods, and explore how we can reconstruct a healthier food system in our communities… and in our kitchens.

Eggs

EPISODE ° 1

EGGS

Most eggs look identical to one another, leaving us highly-dependent on the egg carton to differentiate between the supermarket’s many options. In an effort to examine the claims found on the label, host Jon Steinman comes across some startling and unexpected truths, and becomes motivated to seek out alternatives to store-bought eggs. Featuring Chef Blaine Wetzel of The Willows Inn.

PODCAST

FEATURED PODCAST

Deconstructing Dinner’s Jon Steinman sits down with Mark Kastel – the co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute – a populist farm policy research group based in Wisconsin. Mark and Jon discuss the changing face of organic food. Using eggs as an example – Mark explains how eaters can exercise a more discriminating awareness when purchasing ‘organic’ eggs. Features: Mark Kastel, [&hellip

Eggs Story

THE FACTS

WE CONSUME OVER 50 MILLION
EGGS EVERY YEAR

THE STORY

EGGS

In recent years, people have become concerned with the origins of their eggs. How were the chickens raised? Did they spend their lives in cages, or were they raised outdoors?

For those of us who rely on the grocery store as our primary source of eggs, all we really have to differentiate between the conditions the hens were raised in, is what’s labelled on the egg carton. From ‘cage-free’ to ‘free-run’, ‘free-range’ or ‘organic’, we’re presented with seemingly endless options. But what do all of these labels mean and is anyone monitoring the use of these claims?

When Jon Steinman pays a visit to a large certified organic egg operation he is shocked to discover that what many of us might believe is an organic egg, is far different than expected.

Highly-respected animal welfare expert Ian Duncan, of the University of Guelph in Ontario, weighs in on this question of how ‘organic’ is an ‘organic’ egg.

Jon travels to cities and farms across North America in search of what options are available to us for sourcing fresh and flavourful eggs from a transparent source. He visits with urban chicken advocates in Seattle, pasture-raised hens in California and Chef Blaine Wetzel of The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Washington.

Blaine, Jon and farmer Riley Starks participate in a revealing culinary comparison of a factory-farmed egg and an egg from a hen raised outdoors.

Garlic

EPISODE ° 2

GARLIC

Half of the garlic consumed in North America is grown in China and of the garlic grown here, over 90% comes from California. How does this reliance on imported garlic and centralized production impact local economies, farmers and food culture? Garlic is a symbolic marker of how we can all inspire more vibrant food culture in our communities. Featuring Chef Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern.

PODCAST

FEATURED PODCAST

Across the US and Canada, there is an exciting emergence of a unique type of food festival – a festival for garlic! When looking at a map of where garlic festivals are emerging, it’s clear that garlic knows no geographic boundaries – it’s a food that grows well in most climates across the continent. This [&hellip

THE FACTS

GARLIC CONSUMPTION IN 2010 WAS ESTIMATED AT 2.3lbs PER PERSON

THE STORY

GARLIC

Garlic is the foundational ingredient to many amazing meals. But it’s not often that we go behind the scenes to assess how this food gets from the farm to our plate?

It turns out that 75% of the garlic produced in the world and half of the garlic consumed in North America is grown in China. Of the garlic that is grown here, 90% comes from California (grown by only four companies).

What are the impacts of this reliance on an imported food to local economies? Garlic is an excellent example of how a more informed and active relationship with this food can support local farmers, and local food culture, at the same time inspiring more flavorful meals.

Wheat

EPISODE ° 3

WHEAT

Research is demonstrating how one of our most important staple foods has been losing its nutritional value and flavour for decades. Breeders, farmers, bakers, chefs and eaters are now coming together to reverse this trend and cultivate local wheat economies. Featuring Chef John Sundstrom of Lark.

THE FACTS

DURUM IS A VERY HARD WHEAT COMMONLY USED TO MAKE PASTA

THE STORY

WHEAT

When looking more closely at the systems supplying us with food, grains are often left out – especially wheat. Perhaps this complacency is because wheat has become such a staple of the North American diet and we’ve quite simply taken this food for granted. What then has been going on behind the scenes over the past 50 years among professional wheat breeders, millers and bakers?

It turns out that while the advent of the green revolution brought increased yields to many crops (wheat included), the nutritional composition of wheat has been steadily declining. Adding to this troubling downward trend, the flavor of wheat has also been compromised as breeders are almost always selecting varieties only for their yield potential, disease resistance and functionality within an industrial, global food system.

There is however a movement to counter these trends. Deconstructing Dinner Host, Jon Steinman, travels throughout Washington state, British Columbia and Texas to meet nutritional scientists, wheat breeders, farmers, millers, restaurant owners, chefs and individuals who are unearthing fascinating and nourishing relationships with this ancient food.

Tomatoes

EPISODE ° 4

TOMATOES

Commercial tomato production in North America has strategically evolved to accommodate our appetite for fresh tomatoes 365 days a year. What are the impacts of these demands and how might we foster more personal relationships with this iconic food? Featuring Chef Mark Picone of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College.

PODCAST

FEATURED PODCAST

It’s not uncommon for most of us eaters to view the system supplying us with food as being separate from us, but on this podcast, one of Canada’s most recognized food policy analysts offers his perspectives which suggest otherwise. Instead, the food system has in many ways been designed to satisfy the demands that we [&hellip

Tomatoes Story

THE FACTS

THE LARGEST GREENHOUSE OPERATION IN ONTARIO IS 125.7 ACRES

THE STORY

TOMATOES

Tomatoes are an iconic food that make their way into many meals, year-round. What then are the impacts of demanding tomatoes 365 days a year?

Researchers have discovered that the commercial breeding of tomatoes to satisfy our annual appetite has resulted in a tomato that tastes substantially inferior to what’s possible. Three distinct sectors have emerged to supply the North American demand for tomatoes–field tomatoes, greenhouse tomatoes and processing tomatoes.

What are the impacts of this highly centralized system of production and distribution, and are there more flavorful options available?

Jon Steinman visits with breeders, large and small-scale commercial producers, academics, backyard gardeners, chefs and culinary students to discover that we do indeed have options to eat flavourful tomatoes year-round and with substantially less of an impact.

Honey

EPISODE ° 5

HONEY

From flower to plate, the story of how pure honey ends up in a jar is an awe-inspiring reminder of the work of the honeybee and the ecological relationships we are all a part of. There are, however, many options of honey to choose from and consumers might want to question if what’s on the label, is what’s really in the jar? Featuring Pastry Chef Heather Carlucci – formerly of PRINT.

PODCAST

FEATURED PODCAST

Honey – one of the most natural foods. In the supermarket, honey is found labelled as coming from clover, buckwheat, alfalfa or maybe orange blossom. The label might just read ‘honey’ without any indication of its source of nectar. But is the nectar source even important to those of us wishing to become more conscientious eaters? As Deconstructing Dinner [&hellip

THE FACTS

OVER 50,000 BEES
LIVE IN ONE HIVE

THE STORY

HONEY

Honey is often portrayed as one of the most natural of all foods, and as eaters become increasingly concerned with personal health, honey is appearing in more and more foods as a ‘natural’ sweetener. But where there is money to be made, there are corners to be cut.

It turns out that much of the honey found on grocery store shelves and in processed foods is the result of questionable production practices, suspicious importing practices, and dubious labeling.

With the presence of pollen in honey being the only way to identify whether or not what’s on the label is what’s in the jar, why is it that most of the honey found on store shelves is void of pollen?

Jon Steinman visits with pollen detectives, honey importers, commercial and backyard beekeepers, politicians and chefs to discover that a more informed relationship with this food can support the health of honeybees, biological diversity and our own personal health.

Despite the struggles faced by honeybees and domestic honey producers, we all have the opportunity to source or produce truly transparent honey.

Pork

EPISODE ° 6

PORK

The vast majority of pork production in North America takes place behind closed doors. From birth to slaughter, an industrially raised hog never sees the light of day. Host Jon Steinman embarks on a journey to find out what the most suitable conditions are for a hog to express its instinctual behaviours. Along the way, he discovers startling differences in the quality of pork available to North Americans. Featuring Chef Michael Stadtländer of Eigensinn Farm.

THE FACTS

THE COUNTRY WITH THE HIGHEST PER CAPITA PORK CONSUMPTION IS BELARUS

THE STORY

PORK

The reality of farming livestock today is much different than the storybook images of animals in the open-air, grazing on grass. Despite pigs being descendents of the European Wild Boar, which roamed and grazed outdoors, the vast majority of pigs raised for food today spend their entire lives indoors and unable to express their natural behaviors.

Animal welfare advocates have been working for years to shift the most common practices used for producing pork both on the farm and at slaughterhouses. The safety of the systems producing pork and other meats are also in question as national recalls of meat products are becoming commonplace.

Jon Steinman visits with animal welfare and food safety experts, farmers, butchers, chefs and individuals who are familiar with pigs. He shares what all of these experts have discovered–that by raising pigs outdoors, the animal is allowed to express their instinctual behaviours, which in turn means that the quality and flavour of the pork being produced is superior to what is often found at grocery stores and restaurants.